Tailboard for vehicles



\ June 2, W36.

B. M. STANNARD TAILBOARD FOR VEHICLES Filed Dec. 5, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l I N VENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

June 2, 1.36. M STANNARD 2,042,911

TAILBOARD FOR VEHICLES Filed Dec. 5, 1934 2 Shedts-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR.

44 BEL/CE msm/v/vmm J Q MAM ATTORNEY.

Patented June 2, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TAILBOARD FOR VEHICLES Bruce M. Stannard, Binghamton, N. Y.

Application December 5, 1934, Serial No. 757,136

4 Claims.

The present'invention broadly pertains to vehicle body construction, and more particularly has to do with improved fittings for mounting end gate means as applied to trucks, moving vans or the like automotive conveyances.

My so-called herein disposed in a novel manner.

A shelf -like rearward wing extension of my fioor plate overhangs the end sill and terminates in a transverse outboard tail edge.

A plurality of pintle bearing brackets are preferably mounted directly beneath such wing plate and inwardly of the tail edge confines thereof. Said brackets together with the respective guide straps, collectively constitute a guide linkage comprising complementary knuckle joints that are snugly fitted about their pivots to provide for a tail board mounting that shall be free from obnoxious rattle effects.

When one side face of the tail board is swung into retained flush alignment with the body floor, this facilitates the loading of the truck or moving van. The innermost swinging tail board edge is then guided into a closely adjacent relationship with'respect to the outboard edge of the extended floor plate so as to alford a substantially continuous sectional platform without any pronounced gap therebetween. Heavy loads such as moved articles of furniture or the like, may be freely rolled thereover without danger of obstructing or breaking their casters.

In vehicle bodies of normal construction, the respective rearward faces of the upright corner posts are usually placed in approximate registry with the corresponding transverse face of the underlying sill member.

The present fittings are so designed that the raised tail board is made to snugly'abut the respective rearward post faces. If preferred, the tail board may likewise be made to close between suchcomplementary posts.

clement weather.

, As a further alternative position in meeting certain loading needs, the released tail board may also be dropped downwardly into a depending relation to its supporting pintles.

In order to accomplish the aforesaid purposes without interference between the movable working parts, it has been found expedient to locate the pintle axis with respect to the rearmost side face of the tail board in a certain characteristic relationship which will hereafter be more specifically defined. To this end, the pintle engaging socket end of my hinge straps are purposely crooked and respectively given a certain closely bent, gooseneck contour. Such configuration is at the same time utilized to mount a cross-sectionally troughshaped storm trap means therein that serves to further protectively seal the joint between the closed tail board and its underlying fioor plate.

The primary object of my improvements is to provide for a compact, sturdy tail board mounting of the indicated character that may be effectively applied to truck, van and the like automotive bodies by the use of simple fittings without requiring extensive changes in the prevailing body structure. Embodied herein are also other design features adapted to facilitate the fabrication and attaching of such working parts, all of which aspects will presently be set forth in detail.

Reference is had to the accompanying two sheets of drawings which are illustrative of certain specific embodiments of my invention and in which drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a partial perspective of the rear end of a van embodying my invention with the tail board raised into its closed position, while Fig. 2 is a similar view with the tail board lowered into alignment with the fioor level.

Fig. 3 depicts a fragmental detail of my assembled fittings as taken along 33 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 illustrates different operative positions that may be assumed by said tail board.

Fig. 5 shows a bottom View of the style of pintle mounting brackets used in Figs. 3 and 4 but with the seal trough removed, while Figs. 6 and '7 represent certain bracket modifications.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the moving van It may be provided with a pair of swinging rear doors II to inclose the body compartment in the usual manner. As shown in Fig. 3, the rearward portion of the van or truck floor [2 may be equipped with a floor plate 13 that overlies the transversely disposed end sill i4 and having a plate wing portion thereof extended outwardly therebeyond in shelflike fashion to provide for a continuous rectilinear outboard or tail edge l5 that runs substantially parallel to the rearmost sill face MA. A pair of conventional corner posts such as 16 may be erected at the opposite ends of the end sill with the rearmost post face lBA set in alignment with the corresponding sill face MA. The side edges of the floor plate l3 may be indented to clear the respective posts as indicated. Directly beneath the overhanging wing plate portion, is mounted a series of reversely disposed pintle brackets such as H.

In the exemplification detailed in Fig. 5, said bracket may include an apertured pintle boss [8, a sill flange l9 and a plate flange memberfll that are respectively-disposed in rectangular relationship, as shown. The sill flange l g may be braced by and securely affixed to the sill by bolts such as 2! while the flange 20 may also be reenforcingly attached beneath the floor plate bycount'ersunk The respective boss, apertures rivets such as 22. have a pintle 23 snugly entered therethrough, which may either be of the. continuous" type or. divided into separate units. Two or more of such brackets serve to accurately guide the innermost swinging edge-24 of .they tail board, 25 inlparallelism with the-tail. edge l5; To complete-suchguiding knuckle joint,.each' bracket may be further equipped with a pintle. engaging strap of which the:straight,.relatively flat shank portion 26A includingta sidefacethat extends radially outward fromthe. pintle. axis and which face may be attached .to the rear tailboard face 25A by the screw means 2.1..

The pivot end region: of each hinge strap is purposely crooked. and given. a sharp gooseneck formation to:provide.f.'or'a yoke portion as at 263 which islaterally offset with respect to the contour of the strap. shank, as shown. The innermost free: strapv end terminates in a rotatable tubularsocketZBC thatengages the pintle. Said gooseneck disposition is such that the tail board and its respective shanks 26A may-without interference, be carried around and over my unbroken rectilinear tailedge Ibiwithout requiring the overhanging portion of the floor plate E3 to be weakened byinwardly notching or otherwise severing the continuous tail edge thereof.

In order: to withstand rough usage, it is preferred toresort to a:relatively heavy woodentail board having a substantial thickness designated as- Tim Fig; 4. and which is kept-commensurate with the corresponding end sill dimension. The opposite or front face 25B ofsuch board may be fixedly provided with an inset metal sheathing 28 of which an intermediateportion is shoWn-sharp- 1y kinked-to form and define the innermost swinging edgeQE of'mytail board. The marginal portion* of the overhang-ing sheath member 28 may be-given across-sectionallytroughshape of which onelongitudinaled'geconstitutes a sealing lip 30 that is preferably fitted to seat into the strap olfset and extends along the entire swinging edge of my tail board.

Attention is now directed to Fig. 4, whichshows jected radially; inward towardthe. pintle axis, the: plane. thereof should fall within and intersect the curvilinear profile of the pintle receiving aperture that extends through the strap socket 26C.

In its loading position, the opposite front face 25B of the tail board lies in substantial alignment with the floor plate I3 but leaves a relatively small clearance gap G therebetween so as to virtually constitute a spaceless tail board mounting. When braced by the rigidly mounted end sill as indicated, the bracket I! is firmly upheld against any anticipated loading that may be imposed 1 upon the: overhanging tail edge 15 and this is in turn, further fortified by the reenforcing rivets 2 2;

When this tail board is swung upwardly into its erected position as shown in dotted and dashed 1 outline, the-fiatface 25B is brought into abutment with the respective rearmost post faces EBA to make. a weatherproof; joint therewith. At the same time, the swinging edge 24 is carried downwardly into a position closely contiguous to the 2 floor plate. I3 and'nowtliesforwardly of the pintle axis. It" will" also be. observed that the sealing trough then straddles and embracingly' receives the tailtedge 1'5 to formia weatherproof seaktherewith,. all: without. any" interference. between. the. 2 movable andstationary working parts or. requiring thepintle to beloosely mountedinthe bracket bosses. In; the present.di'sclosure,.the lip 30 extends outwardly beyond; therear board face 25A and. is v confined beneaththeifioor. level in all. lip 3 swing positions- In erected; tail: boardzposition, such lip remainsv spacedfrom: the outboard tail edge [5 and StillxSGlVGS as;a.supplementary storm. seal by which to reenforcingly close any leakage gap that mayuprevail underneath the. tail. board edge 24 andallowsthe erected tail board to abut tightly againstboth corner; posts Should it'bedesired to drop: the tail boardinto: a fully depending. position as; shown in dottedouta line, the sill: may be set'away from the forwardly projecting portion of the. gooseneck. 263 or belocally notched tmprovide-for'suitable clearance sp ace-asindicated in Fig; 4.v

Fig. 6 shows an alternative body structure in which eachsi'de sill 3.4;has;a;rear corner p0st'35 erected thereon-and-whichposts may be-laterally interconnectedbytheusualLtransverse or end sill 36. Either side sill: may be extended rearwardlybeyond itspostposition. In order to allow thetail' board to close inwardly between such mated 5 posts, oneof the end bearingfittingsshown in Fig; 5; maybe modifi'ed to include an- L shap'edbracket 3"! that iscarr-ied by its adjacent side sill and tapped at 38 to receive-the: threaded pintle 39. therein. Theatubularsocket 48C of a gooseneck' 5 shankthen similar-1 y carries the tail board intoits various operative positions;

As a further modification, Fig; 7- illustratesa unitary angular bracket fixture=4 l havingacrosssectional L shapewith a seriesiof pintle receiv- 6 ing boss members 42 welded or otherwise moor-- porated-thereina In this instance, the depending bracket -leg dii may be fixedly secured to the-end sill 64 by bolts whilethe companion-leg 45 thereofextends horizontally with-its topmost face placed- 6 to align-with the floor level. The free outermostedge ofthe aforesaid companion l'eg terminates: in an overhanging transverse edge 46- that' in purpose cor-responds to the outboard tail edge" l5 of Figs; 3 and 4, and which accompanying 7 tailboard strap fittings are otherwise intended to be kept substantially: as previously described. It willbe obvious-that the=bracket 41 maybe similarly; attached directly to the rear. transverse edge of the floor boardsfl .1.

When my tail board is closed within or against the corner posts, the gooseneck portions of the respective straps overhang rearwardly and constitute heavy duty bumper means that effectively protect the tail edge l5 from injury in the event the truck or van should inadvertently be backed into an obstruction. All working parts are neatly and compactly disposed and my tail board may be freely swung about its aligned pintles without being obliged to bodily lift such tail gate while being shifted between its several positions. When closed, the innermost tail board edge is adequately sealed by novel rain and storm trap means.

In connection with the described tail board hinge straps and associated line of hardware, it is pointed out that an article of manufacture of this kind is commonly sold as a separate commodity to body builders or the like dealers, who in turn apply the same in standardized sizes to suit the needs of such vehicles as may be in process of construction.

It is thought that the foregoing disclosure will make evident to those skilled in this art, the advantages afforded by my improved tail board fittings, it being understood that I reserve the right to modify any of my illustrative embodiments, all without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention heretofore described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a vehicle body comprising a floor member that extends rearwardly and terminates in a transversely disposed tail edge, pintle means mounted beneath the floor level, a pair of guide straps operatively engaging the pintle means, a tail board having a rear face and an innermost swinging edge carried by the guide straps and which straps in one extreme travel position about said pintle serve to guide the aforesaid innermost board edge into a closely contiguous relationship with the floor member, and a cross-sectionally trough shaped trap of which one longitudinal edge constitutes a sealing lip disposed outwardly beyond the rear tail board face and serves to supplement the seal afiorded by the aforesaid contiguous relationship of the board edge, said lip being cooperatively located beneath the tail edge of the floor member and maintaining a clearance space therebetween in all swing positions of said straps.

2. In a vehicle body comprising a floor member that extends rearwardly and terminates in a transversely disposed tail edge, pintle means mounted beneath the floor level, plural guide strap means engaging the pintle means, a tail board including an innermost swinging edge carried crosswise between the guide straps, the axis of said pintle being located to allow the innermost board edge to swing about the pintle axis between certain extreme travel positions without interference with the aforesaid tail edge to include an erected tail board position lying above the floor level in which said innermost swinging edge is guided toward the underlying floor member into contiguous relationship, and open mouthed trap means also carried by the strap means including a sealing lip, the mouth of said trap being disposed to cooperatively receive said tail edge therein with its sealing lip disposed beneath the tail edge of the floor member in spaced relationship when the tail board is swung into said erected travel position.

3. In a vehicle body provided with a transversely disposed end sill member, the combination of a floor plate extending rearwardly beyond said sill to terminate in a tail edge, a pair of brackets mounted beneath the overhanging portion of the extended plate, pintle means carried by said brackets, movable guide strap means for each such bracket, said straps respectively having an intermediate gooseneck formation of which one end region is equipped with socket means that operatively engage the pintle means, a tail board including an innermost swinging edge carried crosswise between the respective straps outward- 1y beyond the gooseneck formation thereof, said pintle means being disposed to allow the aforesaid innermost board edge freely to swing about the pintle axis between erected and aligned board positions relative to the floor level, and trap means carried by the guide straps in a radially inward relation to said innermost board edge and which trap seals the last named edge when the tail board is guided into its erected position.

4. mi article of manufacture adapted to pivotally mount a vehicle tail board and which article comprises a pair of crooked hinge straps each having a gooseneck formation including a yoke portion interposed between the respective ends of said straps, and a cross-sectionally trough shaped trap member located within the respective gooseneck yokes and extending between said straps.

BRUCE M. STANNARD. 

